BIOL 4640 Molecular Microbiology · Rowen

Quick start

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Study

Browse or review what’s due — one deck.

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Book Reader

Slonczewski + Brock in one reader: section TOC, whole-book search, original PDFs.

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Textbook — you do not buy it

The required text is Microbiology: An Evolving Science, 6th edition, by Slonczewski, Foster & Zinser (W. W. Norton, © 2023 · print ISBN 978-1-324-03352-3). It is delivered as an ebook through UNO's First Day / Inclusive Access program, billed automatically to your UNO student account about two weeks after classes start. You do not need to purchase any materials.

Step	What to do
1	Log into Canvas and open the BIOL 4640 course page.
2	Click B&N Course Materials in the left-hand menu, then the tile for Microbiology: An Evolving Science. First time through you must register.
3	After registering, reach the book from the Canvas module Microbiology An Evolving Science 6th ed material, or go straight to Norton's Microbiology digital-resources site.
Free trial	Access is free for the first two weeks.

One reading only exists in the ebook

Unit 2 assigns A3.6 — a section of eAppendix 3: Laboratory Methods for Microbiology. The eAppendices ship only with the Norton Illumine Ebook; a borrowed print copy will not contain that reading. If you were planning to skip First Day access and find a used print book, that is the gap.

Opt-out deadline: Monday September 7, 2026, 11:59 PM — confirmed

The B&N First Day portal states this date directly, for this course. The PDF syllabus (4640-Syllabus-Fa2026_v4) says 10/7/26 — that is a typo. Going by the syllabus date means you get billed a month before you act.

Can you opt out of this one? Yes, plausibly — unlike a courseware platform, the portal offers this title as Read Now, i.e. reading access only. Rowen's homework is Word documents submitted through Canvas, and the grade is four exams plus homework — nothing is routed through Norton's platform. The full text, including eAppendix 3 §A3.6, is readable on this site. What you would give up is the publisher's interactive layer (animations, research activities) and exact figure/table layouts — none of it graded under the v4 syllabus. If Rowen later assigns anything inside the Norton ebook, opt back in.

The full text of Slonczewski 6e is readable on this site under Textbook, with every section Rowen assigns badged by unit — including eAppendix 3 §A3.6, which no print copy contains. Brock Biology of Microorganisms 16e is still here as a second explanation, with a crosswalk on the Books page.

Predicted schedule of topics & exam dates

Chapter numbers below are Slonczewski, Foster & Zinser 6e, exactly as listed in the syllabus. Rowen labels this schedule "predicted" — dates can shift. For what each section number actually is, see the verified section-by-section map.

Unit	Topic	Chapter(s)	Assessment / notes
1	Methods for studying microorganisms	Notes
1	Methods for culturing and counting microbial cells	4.3–4.4
1	Methods for observing microbial cells	2.1–2.6
2	Features of microbial genomes and chromosomes	7.1–7.6, 6.3
2	Genomic sequencing and annotation	A3.6, 9.5
2	Genome evolution	9
2	Microbial phylogeny and taxonomy	17.3, 17.5, 18.1	Exam 1 — Oct 5
3	Bacterial external structures	3.6
3	Bacterial envelope and cell wall	3.3
3	Cell membrane and transport	3.2
3	Bacterial internal structures	—
3	Bacterial cell division	3.4–3.5
3	Viruses	6	No lecture Oct 26 · Exam 2 — Oct 28
4	Energetics and catabolism	13
4	Aerobic/anaerobic respiration, lithotrophy and phototrophy	14
4	Biosynthesis and CO₂ fixation	15.1–15.2	Exam 3 — Nov 23
5	Transcription and translation	8.1–8.5
5	Molecular regulation	10, 12.1
5	Biofilms and cell differentiation	4.5, 12.2
5	Adaptations to environmental influences	4.6, 5.1–5.6	Exam 4 — Dec 16, 10–11:59 AM · optional Final Dec 16–18

What the exam pattern means for you

Exam 1 (Oct 5) covers Units 1 + 2 — methods, genomes, phylogeny. It is the only exam that carries two units, so it is the longest stretch of material.
Exams 2, 3, 4 cover Units 3, 4, 5 respectively.
Exam 4 and the optional final both fall in finals week — Exam 4 on Dec 16 morning, the comprehensive final somewhere in Dec 16–18. If you are happy with your first three scores you can skip the final entirely.

Grading

Assessment	Points	Share
Best four of five exams (4 × 100 pts) — four unit exams plus the optional comprehensive final	400 pts	~73%
Homework assignments, including the Microbe Presentation	~150 pts	~27%
Total	~550 pts	100%

Grading scale. A+ 96–100 A 92–95.9 A− 89–91.9 B+ 86–88.9 B 82–85.9 B− 79–81.9 C+ 76–78.9 C 69–75.9 D 60–68.9

The syllabus scale lists no C− and no F band; C spans a wide 69–75.9%, and anything below 60% is by implication failing.

Policies worth memorizing

Homework is due 11:59 PM on the posted date. Late work loses 3% per day, capped at 50% off — so a late assignment is always worth turning in.
Missed exam: if the reason is valid (Rowen's judgment) and you notify him in advance or shortly after, you may make it up.
The optional final replaces one of exams 1–3, not exam 4.
Academic dishonesty: zero on the first offense, failing grade in the course on the second.

Instructor & logistics

Instructor	Donald Rowen, PhD
Lectures	Mon / Wed / Fri, 11:00–11:50 AM · Allwine 305
Office	Allwine Hall 114J
Office hours	Tuesday & Wednesday 10–11 AM, or by appointment · Zoom available
Email	drowen@nebraska.edu — his stated best contact method
Phone	402-554-2143 (voicemail)
Cross-listed	BIOL 4640 / 8646 — graduate section runs alongside
Syllabus	4640-Syllabus-Fa2026_v4.pdf — hosted here; also on Canvas as .docx and .pdf

Accessibility. Accommodations are provided for students registered with the Accessibility Services Center who request them sufficiently in advance — 104 H&K · 402.554.2872 · unoaccessibility@unomaha.edu.

Course objectives

By the end of the course Rowen expects you to be able to:

Describe the function and importance of structures found in bacterial cells.
Predict the properties of a bacterium from an analysis of its genome.
Describe some of the diversity in energy-generating metabolic pathways found in bacteria.
Describe ways that bacteria regulate their processes and adapt to their environment.

Objective 2 is the one that shapes the exams most — Unit 2 is genome-first, and "here is a genome annotation, what can this organism do?" is the natural question format.

Early assignments & lecture materials

Item	Due	Notes
Introduce Yourself	Week 1	4640-Introduce Yourself-2026.docx — on Canvas.
Assignment 1 — Microbe Search	Fri Aug 28, 2026 · 11:59 PM	6 pts. Fillable version · Rowen's .docx.
Microbe Presentation	Later in term	Part of the ~150 homework points.

Assignment 1 in one line

Pick a habitat, biome, or bioremediation process, then find four bacterial species reported there in the scientific literature — twice. Once with an AI-assisted search (record your prompts, list the two best sources, and verify the articles are real), once with PubMed / Google Scholar / a database (describe your method, two best sources, four species). Then compare: same results? Which was better on speed and credibility?

The graded skill here is source verification. AI models fabricate citations, and the assignment is explicitly built to make you catch that — check every DOI and PMID before you submit.

Lecture slides. Rowen posts an incomplete PowerPoint with blanks for you to fill in during lecture, usually by the night before. Download it before class — filling the gaps live is the intended way to engage, and the blanks are a strong signal about what he considers exam-worthy.

References & free supplements

Norton — Microbiology: An Evolving Science 6e digital resources required text
OpenStax Microbiology — full free textbook
LibreTexts — Microbiology
Oregon State — Allied Health Microbiology open text
Internet Archive — Madigan Brock Biology of Microorganisms supplement
PubMed · Google Scholar — for Assignment 1
UNO Academic Integrity policy
UNO Accessibility Services Center
Donald Rowen faculty profile

Molecular Microbiology — Fall 2026